My early memories of Tom are of this little blond kid, very happy, always running around and totally obsessed with sport. He was either playing football, tennis or golf. There’s a ten-year age gap between us. I’m the oldest of five; Tom is the second youngest. Harry, the youngest, works with us on the business side of things and there are our two sisters: Nikki, who used to be a nurse and is now a landscape gardener, and Jodie, who runs a gravestone business.
I wasn’t around much during Tom’s childhood because of the age difference. I was out, mostly busy doing my own thing, and by 18 I was away working on the oil rigs. That took me out of the family dynamic, pretty much. So I’m not sure how much Tom did look up to me growing up, simply because I wasn’t there. But I do know that when I started training at the gym — getting a bigger chest, bigger arms, a six-pack, all of that — it must have had some influence on him because eventually he followed in my footsteps.
Together we’re now the strongest brothers who ever lived. That’s official, by the way — our unique selling point. Between us we’ve won three World’s Strongest Man and two Europe’s Strongest Man competitions. Who’s stronger? Tom! He’s 6ft 8in, a massive human being. I’m only 6ft 3in. He holds the world record for lifting the heaviest atlas stone at 286kg.
Bodybuilding saved my life, really. Every time I came back from the rigs I realised I was not in a good place — I was depressed, struggling with my mental health. Growing up I’d been self-conscious and shy, but when I went to the gym it helped bring me out of my shell. My grandfather had been a very strong man, someone who could throw up railway sleepers onto his shoulders while doing the gardening. I took my inspiration from him. Then, when Mum passed away from cancer in 2016, aged 56, I just thought, “What am I doing with my life?” That’s when I decided to leave the rigs and give the strongman stuff a shot. Tom and I took part in a competition in Dubai in 2019 and took second and third place. That started me thinking that there might be something here for the two of us to do together.
Tom is autistic. He struggled at school. I remember Mum telling me one time that I should take him to the gym when he was a teenager — he needed something to help him. Bodybuilding gave him his confidence and so we went on this journey together.
• Tom and Luke Stoltman handling weight of world with aplomb
We’re the Stoltman Brothers now. We have a gym in our home town of Invergordon, a clothing line, a YouTube channel and we travel the world taking part in strongman competitions. Does that make me a canny businessman? Some might say it’s egotistical mania!
Bodybuilding was our way of reconnecting as adults. Our drive is very evenly matched. We can both be pretty erratic but we’re a good team. I’ve more ability to have conversations with people because Tom struggles somewhat due to the autism. And it’s harder for him to show emotion, while I’ll cry at a nice sunset. But we spend all our time together, every day: eating, training, competing. We don’t need to say much, we just support ourselves in silence and by being present in each other’s lives. It’s a very big family we have — nieces and nephews everywhere and we’re close to our siblings — then there’s Tom’s wife, my partner, my son from my first marriage and our dad, who is very proud. It’s really nice that we’ve all stayed in the same area. We support one another.
We’ve had injuries, sure, but not serious ones. I’ve had a couple of torn biceps, which were pretty nasty, but they were non-surgical and the recovery was only six to eight weeks. Strength training is one of the best forms of life longevity: we follow a very strict protocol.
In the latest World’s Strongest Man competition, which was shown over Christmas, Tom came second to a South African newcomer called Rayno Nel, losing to him by half a point. But they went out partying afterwards and soon were the best of friends. I came ninth. At 41 I’m coming to the end of my career but Tom has years ahead of him. He’s still incredibly strong.
Tom
I was diagnosed with autism at five years old, so school for me was difficult. I had to find my own path through it, and that was football. I played all the time but when I reached 16 or 17 most of my friends left for college or university, or jobs. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I just locked myself in my room playing Xbox, up to eight hours a day. My room was always my safe space.
The brothers at home c 1995
I knew that Luke had found bodybuilding really helpful for his mental health and one day my parents encouraged me to go with him. I was maybe 16. I kept my hood up and couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. There were loads of men at the gym, loads of mirrors, people staring at you. I hated it. And working out hurt, it made your muscles so sore. But I kept going back and I liked it when my body started changing. I took my hood down and got a bit more confident.
• Scots star Tom Stoltman is the world’s strongest man — again
Luke guided me in the right direction and soon we were both winning competitions. In 90 per cent of the competitions we’ve entered we are competing against one another. We both want to beat each other of course, and he used to win everything before I started beating him, but we always hug afterwards. Basically we’re like Superman and the Hulk coming together, and it’s important to us that we’re doing it for Scotland.
We spend every day together, training. Breakfast is eight boiled eggs with some sourdough and cheese, then at 10am it’s 400g mince, 400g rice and some garlic flavouring, and then I have the same thing again at 12 o’clock before going to the gym. That’s a lot before midday. In the evenings I’ll eat anything my wife, Sinead, makes. She has always been incredibly supportive throughout my career.
Becoming this successful has definitely brought me out of my shell, but sometimes I get overwhelmed and have to take a step back. Luke is always there for me. We’re a business now and we’re always looking what to do next. There’s even a film being made of our lives. Every year our targets get a little bit bigger but we remind ourselves that this is a marathon, not a sprint. All I’ve known in my life is to lift weights and be strong, but I know I’ve got to sit down with Luke and think, OK, what’s the future? It’s exciting.
Luke and Tom run an online coaching academy at stoltmanacademy.com and sell merchandise through stoltmanbrothers.com
Strange habits
Luke on Tom
Whenever we go to a new place, he goes to the toilet straight away. It’s almost like he’s marking his territory
Tom on Luke
The noises he makes in the cold tub sound like a wild animal. It’s very disturbing
